So, is Skyrim magic really so much worse than Oblivion?

I mean, the magic in Skyrim seems like having a lot more replayability and possibilities to me. I haven't seen plenty of magic in Oblivion, but from what I've played (I've reached blades temple at bruma and stopped there), it doesn't feel like you can even make a pure mage build.

In Skyrim, however, even if you focus on two schools or all of them, you're gonna get really powerful around level 30 or whenever you finish the College questline.

But I've heard that you can create your spells in Oblivion and one-shot everyone with high level destruction, so that's a point for me.

What do you guys think?

First of all, I'm not a guy.

But anyway, spellmaking is really the reason that spells are so good in Oblivion (and earlier entries). It gives you tremendous freedom, and importantly, allows your spells to continue to scale. In Skyrim, you might be a powerful mage by level 30, but there's no way to grow at that point, since there's no way to get stronger spells. Yet, as you level up further, your enemies also get stronger, while you do not.

In Oblivion, on the other hand, you can create custom spells, and if you can get/enchant equipment to get more Magicka, you can afford to use more powerful spells (unlike in Skyrim where the extra Magicka would solely allow you to use more of the same spells). At high levels and maxed skill (so that there's no limit on spell power), you can create all sorts of powerful spells, like Restoration spells that give you more Magicka and Magicka regen, and Destruction spells that hit with multiple elements while adding weaknesses. A spell with Fire Damage, Weakness to Fire, and Weakness to Magic, in that order (because the interaction of the effects is counter-intuitive, unlike in Morrowind where the weaknesses come first), can do damage that increases with each fast-ehough hit, making it feasible to kill even high-level enemies in a reasonable amount of time. Meanwhile, physical attacks do the same damage with each hit, and there's no way to improve weapons to high levels like in Skyrim.

And magic is really powerful in the earlier games, though expensive enough that you can't really use a pure mage strategy (though in Arena using spell-casting items as your primary offensive strategy is feasible).


(Also, Restoration in Oblivion and earlier allows you to boost your stats and (in Morrowind/Oblivion) your skills; in Skyrim you can't do that with magic, and the only remnant of that is the behavior of Fortify Restoration potions, which are the mechanic that destroys any semblance of balance the game might have, to the point of possible integer overflow.)

First of all, I am actually a guy...

Now that you know this information, I must confess that I think you are right! In oblivion sky is the limit when It comes to creating spells but in skyrim you must obey the limits they set for you... I heard Morrowind offers even more freedom than Oblivion.

Yep, Morrowind offers even more freedom. Part of it is that, if you attempt to exploit the system, Morrowind doesn't put up any resistance. Another part is that Morrowind has many fun effects that were removed in Oblivion, like Levitate which allows you to literally fly; just Levitate, get your speed up high (but not too high; while not feasible with spells alone (unless you use a certain glitch), it's possible to get your speed higher than the game can handle and crash the game), and just fly around the map.

There's also the fact that Morrrowind encourages this sort of thing. Early in the game, you find some scrolls that temporarily boost your Acrobatics by 1,000 points (not a typo); just think about what would happen if you were to read one of those scrolls and then jump (just save first).

Oblivion, on the other hand, puts up some resistance if you attempt to exploit it, making things more balanced but also limiting what you can do.

(Worth noting that, while Skyrim lacks spellmaking, there's other aspects of the system that are exploitable, and the game doesn't put up as much resistance as Oblivion (but still more than Morrowind).)

It's a matter of give and take and how you choose to look at it. If all you value is freedom then yes Oblivion and Morrowind's spellmaking offer absolutely broken ways to use magic.

IMHO that is boring, it may be fun at first but once you've rendered your foes impotent with magic that stacks fire/frost/shock and paralysis there really is nowhere to go.

Skyrim's magic system is more balanced, let's you grow into them more as your skills improve and as you invest perk points into them, and at the upper levels offers you devastating spells but they need to be used correctly against tougher enemies like the tougher Draugr and Dragon Priests. They also look way cooler than the dinky magical effects of Oblivion and Morrowind. Combined with shouts you can chain incredibly destructive energies to defeat your enemies in ways that are more engaging rather than stepping on bugs.

I know this will ruffle the feathers of the Morrowboomers and Obliviennials but thems the facts Jack B-)

edit: apparently GOG forums don't allow for emojis ಠ_ಠ

At lower levels, maybe. At higher levels, definitely not; there's no way, without using Fortify Restoration potions, to come anywhere close to the damage a well-tempered weapon can cause. The best you can do is reduce the cost of spells to 0.

Also, there's entire categories of spells missing in Skyrim. There's no spell to get temporary health, and no spells that improve your movement, in any way. (I also find it annoying that there's no spell to deal with fall damage, but Oblivion also has that issue.)

Hey, you'll say spamming fireballs isn't funny? Haha, c'mon, that's hilariously good.

But it doesn't help you get to point A to B faster.

It doesn't help with climbing mountains. (I find it particularly annoying that you need a horse to climb steeper slopes, which makes no sense to me.)

It doesn't allow you to teleport to a safe location. Nor does it allow you to mark the spot you reached in a dungeon so that you can return there later, after you've stored/sold all that loot.

It doesn't allow you to lower the enemy's carrying capacity to the point where it can t wield its equipment and therefore can't follow you.

All these things are possible in Morrowind, and some are possible in Oblivion as well.

No.

Would say Oblivion was better, first you have an extra button to conjure a spell with drawn weapon.
With Skyrim the Touch-Magic was cancelled out, i missed it for near distance fights, second this dysbalance Skyrim as the novice spells lack energy even against a hand2hand opponent. Oblivion offered the feature to enchant items with shield magic or light, so a helmet can be put on to have light around.

But there's a Skyrim mod that give the old spells back, but not the extra key to use them.

T-Solderbro